Chinese envoy attends Chilean president's inauguration

SANTIAGO -- Ni Hong, Chinese President Xi Jinping's special envoy, attended the Chilean presidential inauguration ceremony in the city of Valparaiso on Wednesday at the invitation of the Chilean government.

Ni, also minister of housing and urban-rural development, on Tuesday met separately in Santiago with Chile's president-elect Jose Antonio Kast and outgoing President Gabriel Boric.

During his meeting with Kast, Ni conveyed Xi's cordial greetings, saying that China stands ready to work with Chile's new government to carry forward the traditional friendship and promote the in-depth development of the China-Chile comprehensive strategic partnership.

Kast thanked Xi for sending a special envoy to attend the inauguration ceremony, and asked Ni to convey his sincere greetings and best wishes to Xi. He said developing relations with China and adhering to the one-China principle are Chile's state policies, adding that the new government will continue this diplomatic tradition.

Kast added that Chile attaches great importance to relations with China and is willing to strengthen exchanges and cooperation with China in areas including trade, investment, science and technology, housing development, health, and disease prevention and treatment.

During his meeting with Boric, Ni conveyed Xi's cordial greetings and spoke positively of the contributions Boric had made to advancing China-Chile relations during his presidency.

Boric asked Ni to convey his sincere greetings to Xi, saying China is an important partner of Chile and expressing hope for further development of bilateral ties.